Squats are very technical and the "perfect" form is very different from person to person. I've lifted for years with a guy who has such a wide stance his toes are almost pointed completely out. I routinely lifted with one of the best 93KG lifters in the world. He has one of the most messed up forms I have ever seen, but he is so strong and knows what he is doing, I can't critique him other than tell him what I see.

Teach to squat on a box. You can go one of two different ways. If he has good depth, set the box to slightly below legal depth. If not, set up about an inch or two above depth and work your way down to slightly below legal depth and then increase weight.

So, start with the set up. He needs to think unracking is the hardest thing he is goint to do. Grip the bar where he is comfortable. I had to go all the way to the rings because my shoulders are trash. But, generally, I liked to go as narrow as I could - mind you it was wider than most. I also liked the eagle claw grip because it allowed my shoulders to rotate a bit more under the bar. As coach/spotter, make sure he is centered. Grip the bar, take a big breath, engage the lats and lift off with the hips, not the back. Take one step back and then another. Get into position.

The correct position will be dependent on him and his body. I go probably a bit wider than what most would consider wide, but not rediculously wide. At the gym I use, the rack isn't wide enough for me to get super comfortable. I need about another inch (I know, I know, that's what she said). Also, have him play with his foot position. Try a 30-45 degree angle and adjust. Figure all this out with just a bar. You may have to adjust where the box is until you learn his set up.

Once you are set up, break the lift into three basic steps. I'll do my best to explain how, but I figure I will fail at some level.. In the set up, he wants to take one or two big breaths. The less time you spend getting ready, the less tired you get for the actuall lift. The last breath, take in as much as he can, and engage the back. At the same time have him push his belly into his belt. From a coaching stanpoint, I follow the lifter from the unrack through the set up with my hand on the back until he is in position. My keys to the lifter, once he is in position is BIG back (at that time, I will tap where they tend to start loose, either not engaging the lats or middle of the back). That tapping tells the lifter exactly where you need them to get tight. At the same time, I'm yelling breath so they know to get what they can.

Side note here on using a belt. I describe using one this way. Think about having to take a big dump. Think about trying to not take a dump and pushing to take one at the same time. He wants to push his belly into the belt. That will help him get his torso tight.

Starting the lift. The 3 main cues are break at the hips, sit back and spread the floor/knees out.. The goal is to be able to get his shins as perpendicular to the ground as you can.

Break at the hips - most new lifters start the lift with bending their backs instead of breaking at the hips. This IMMEDIATELY gets them out of position. Watch him start the lift. Get him to break at the hips.

Sit back - this will help get his shins more perpendicular. This is hard for most lifters because they are weak in the core. As he is going down (with just the bar). You may have to grab is hips and gently pull him backwards (you don't want him fall onto the box). When down in the hole, have him look into a mirror. Point out how bad or good his angle is. If you need to, pull him back on the box, so he knows how it is supposed to feel.

Spread the floor/knees out - it is basically the same concept. You are wanting his knees to track in line with his body. You will see most lifters knees cave in. That is because their hips are weak and they are compensating. You gotta get the hips stronger. The correct way to teach this, and you can try it with no weight, is to put a towel down on the floor. Have him get into his final lifting stance. Tell him to try and grip the towel with his toes and rip it by spreading his feet out while his heels are rooted.

Once he is down on the box, now this one is hard to explain, you don't want him to do a touch and go, you don't want him to do pause rep, but what you want his him to be able to have enough time to recognize the feel of the right position.

The cues you should concentrate on are pretty simple. Explode, knees out and head back.

Explode - once he makes the decision to come up, don't mess around, get the f up. Squeeze the glutes and get the up.

Knees out - again, same concept as above, you will see a lot of lifters collapse their knees as they explode - once again weak hips. FWIW, for women, it is more pronounced due to their hip morphology (no comment on the it is okay for men to compete with women if they identify as such). So watch him during the lift. At anytime you see him start to collapse,...KNEES OUT.

Head back - the second thing newbies tend to do is pitch forward. This is cause for back injuries. You want the weight centered over the hips and feet, as much as possible. If you see him pitch forward, the cue is head back. If he forces his head back (not too dramatically), this forces his torso up and gets him into position.

There is a lot of information here. I am not sure if I explained what I was trying to explain. Let me know if you have questions.